It's December 26th!!!

Ahh. My favorite day!! How was your Christmas? Ours was very, very nice. Kind of peaceful. Son and grandson came over and of course, daughter was here. Dinner was great. The ham that son got for us was fantastic! We had a wonderful buffet.

We exchanged gifts; had a conference call with family back in NY. It was as if we were all there, like Christmases past. Everyone talking at once, lots of noise in the background, all of us yelling "Merry Christmas" back and forth over phones, and at the end my sister told us all she had a Christmas message from our dad.

That brought down the house. It was a poem. I think it was "Merry Christmas from Heaven". There wasn't a dry eye from us all across the country. She broke down and couldn't finish the last stanza; our dear friend had to finish it for her. Our first Christmas without our dad.

Merry Christmas, Pop. We miss you so.

So, you know how I said Dec. 26 was the favorite day, a day for collapsing, relaxing. Scratch that.

Of course our two boys in the Burbs didn't make it up here. And for numerous reasons, won't be coming up next weekend or the weekend after. So......when one called, I told him we're thinking of meeting him halfway today after we take daughter home, to give them their gifts. ok. That's arranged.

Then younger son calls at 5:15pm to say he wouldn't be coming up. No kidding? Really? Hmmm. Well we'll give your gifts to Ryan and you can pick them up from his place. "Oh. I was going to come up tomorrow", says he. "ehhh, we won't be home. We're taking Julie home and then going to the other end of the state to meet up with Ryan", says I. "Oh. well I can come up anyway and pick the things up", says he.

See, he has a huge box that was delivered here a few weeks ago - some kind of car parts he ordered. I know he wants that box! And maybe the gifts.

This really pisses me off. This is the second time he has not bothered to come up for Christmas; the second time I have created a very, very special gift just for him. It happens to be an essay he wrote when he was young about my dad. My dad kept it all these years; I don't think son believed me when I told me some time ago that grandpa still had that essay. I matted and framed it with a picture of him and grandpa together.

So now I'm thinking, I will leave his stuff here. If he doesn't get them until summer, so be it. C'est le vive.

Anyway, it is Dec. 26. Time to put all the hoopla behind. Time to relax, enjoy, reflect and pray that all will resolve over the coming year.

I do, however, miss the fact that on Dec. 26, the radio stations stop playing Christmas songs. This is wrong. Oh, they play "winter" and "snow" songs. But if the commercial powers that be can start decorating their businesses and advertising Christmas sales in October, you can't play Christmas songs at least til New Year's??! Seriously. We can't extend the feelings of good will, peace and love for another week?? Wrong. Very wrong. Thank God, we have our Christmas CD's. We can play them as long as we want. So there, powers-that-be! Stick that in your microphone!

OMG. I've really got to start relaxing. I'm getting all worked up here. Not good. Ahh, the spinning wheel. That's the ticket. Time to uncover my friend, bring out that tub of roving and..........relax. Peace at last!!